Antisemitism

Bar Mitzvah

A Jewish male who at the age of thirteen transitions to a state of religious and ritual obligation under the precepts of Jewish law becomes a Bar Mitzvah. The term has also come to denote a communal initiation ceremony signifying the beginning of religious/ritual responsibility. Young women reach the status of Bat Mitzvah (baht mits va) at age twelve.

hate group

A group whose worldview is based significantly on strong intolerance or hatred of a certain group(s) of people based on race, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. Hate groups usually, but not always, claim superiority to those whom they oppose. They often advocate separation: removing themselves from the presence of the people they hate, or removing the people they hate from their presence. They sometimes advocate elimination: killing those people whom they hate.

Christianity

A monotheistic system of beliefs and practices based on the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus as embodied in the New Testament and emphasizing the role of Jesus as savior.

Zionism

A political and cultural movement advocating a Jewish independent state in the Land of Israel.

Ku Klux Klan

A racist, antisemitic movement with a commitment to extreme violence to achieve its goals of racial segregation and white supremacy. Of all the types of right-wing hate groups that exist in the United States, the Klan remains the one with the greatest number of national and local organizations around the country.

Aryan

A rather ambiguous term the Nazis primarily applied to people of Northern European racial background. Although never defined, in April 1933, the Nazis defined "non-Aryans" as individuals who had a parent or grandparent who was Jewish.

Judaism

A religion developed among the ancient Hebrews and characterized by belief in one God who has revealed himself to Abraham, Moses, and the Hebrew prophets and by a religious life in accordance with Scriptures and rabbinic traditions.

caricature

A representation, especially pictorial or literary, in which the subject's distinctive features are deliberately exaggerated to produce a comic or grotesque effect.

cantor

A role (traditionally held by a man) within formal Jewish religious worship which employs elaborate musical chanting while leading a congregation in prayer.

menorah

A seven-branched candelabrum used in the Temple; one of the oldest symbols of the Jewish faith.

kippah

A skullcap head covering worn by some Jews at all times, and other Jews during prayer and/or meals; also know as a yarmulke

Rassenkunde

A term literally translated as "racial science." (See also Nazi ideology.)

swastika

An ancient Eastern symbol appropriated by the Nazis as their emblem.

Chanukah or Hanukkah

An eight-day holiday that celebrates the unlikely victory of the Israelites, led by the Maccabees, against Greek Assyrian persecution and religious oppression in the Land of Israel in the second century B.C.E. In addition to marking a military victory against religious oppression and the subsequent rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem, Chanukah recognizes a miracle in that a single flask of oil used to light the Temple menorah lasted for eight days.

stereotype

An oversimplified generalization about a person or group of people without regard for individual differences. Even seemingly positive stereotypes that link a person or group to a specific positive trait can have negative consequences.

blood libel

An unfounded accusation that began in the Middle Ages rumoring that Jews kill Christian children to use their blood for the ritual of making wine as well as unleavened bread (matzah) for the Passover festival. The false allegations often led to phony trials, assaults, and murders of Jews.

dehumanization

As a political or social measure, dehumanization is intended to change the manner in which a person or group of people are perceived, reducing the target group to objects or beings not worthy of human rights.

kosher

Food that is permissible to eat under Jewish dietary laws; can also describe any other ritual object that is fit for use according to Jewish law.

prejudice

Prejudging or making a decision about a person or group of people without sufficient knowledge. Prejudicial thinking is frequently based on stereotypes.

antisemitism

Prejudice or discrimination against Jews. Antisemitism can be based on hatred against Jews because of their religious beliefs or their group membership (ethnicity), but also on the erroneous belief that Jews are a race. Nazi antisemitism was racial in nature; Jews were viewed as racially inferior to Aryans and destructive of the world order.

Hitler Youth

The Nazi Party's compulsory (after 1939) youth movement, which emphasized physical training, Nazi ideology, and absolute obedience to Hitler and the Nazi Party. Youth were subject to intensive propaganda regarding racial and national superiority

Nazi ideology

The Nazi system of beliefs, based on a racial view of the world. According to Nazi ideology, the Nordic Aryan Germans were the "master race." Other races were inferior to them and the Jews were considered to be the "anti-race," the exact opposite of the Germans, and an evil and destructive race. Germans were said to be the natural rulers of the world and, in order to achieve that position, influence of the Jews needed to be ended. Thus, racial antisemitism and solving the so-called "Jewish Question" lay at the heart of Nazi ideology, as did the desire for more territory or Lebensraum (living space).

racism

The practice of discrimination, segregation, persecution, and domination of a group based on that group's race.

Der Sturmer

The weekly newspaper published by Julius Streicher for twenty-two years, beginning in May 1923. Every issue denounced Jews in crude, vicious, and vivid ways, often through the use of caricatures.

boycott

To abstain from using, buying, or dealing with a business as an expression of protest or disfavor or as a means of coercion.

scapegoat

To blame an individual or group for something based on that person or group's identity when, in reality, the person or group is not responsible. Prejudicial thinking and discriminatory acts can lead to scapegoating. The individual or group blamed is the "scapegoat."